Emerald Confessions
by Commissarhoni
Summary: Shade travels to Angel Island to meet Knuckles, and soon finds herself confessing her feelings to Knuckles


Shade the Echidna landed on Angel Island with a thud, the portable warp ring concealed in her suit made for excellent transportation. She looked around at the lush jungle around her as it contrasted with the darkness of the coming night and took a deep breath, "here we go..." she said to herself as she began walking deeper into the jungle of Angel Island.

Knuckles the Echidna leaned on the Master Emerald as he watched the sunset before him, "sure was a boring day" he thought as he stood up. He looked out into the jungle surrounding the emerald shrine and took in the beauty of nature. It was times like this that he was glad that he was the guardian, he didn't have to deal with all the confusion and clutter of cities or loads of people. It was just him, the Master Emerald, and the island. He turned and looked back at the Master Emerald as he pondered this for a second, it was this same sense of tranquility that he also hated at the same time, he liked not being bothered by large groups, but he never had time to interact with anyone. The only time he ever got to even speak with other people was when Sonic and Tails showed up, and maybe sometimes when Rouge would come to the island, but Knuckles always was on his toes. "It'd be great if I could just have a good friend to talk to who could stay here with me and wouldn't have their eyes on the Master Emerald" Knuckles said to himself. He always found himself talking to himself to pass the time, besides, it wasn't like there was anyone listening. Just then a branch cracked out in the jungle and Knuckles turned towards the direction the noise had come from. He steadied his nerves as he saw a dark figure begin making its way out of the jungle towards the emerald shrine. "Who goes there?" he challenged to the mystery intruder. "Procurator Shade of the Nocturnus" came the voice of Shade the Echidna as she stepped out from the underbrush.

Knuckles was surprised, he hadn't seen Shade in a few weeks, he wasn't sure where she had gone to after their adventures in the twilight cage, even so, the prospect of seeing her gave Knuckles a warm feeling that he didn't quite understand. "What brings you here?" Knuckles said as he hopped down off the Emerald shrine. "I wanted to see if there was a way to use the Master Emerald to rescue my people from the twilight cage" she said somberly as Knuckles stopped in front of her. "And what makes you think I'd do that?" commented Knuckles as he tried to maintain his stoic composure. "you have a good heart Knuckles, I believe that is why your clan chose you to be the Guardian, I know you can help me" Shade pleaded. Knuckles was taken aback a bit by this but he regained his composure and agreed "Fine, but there's no telling if this will work". Shade smiled and began walking up the steps to the Master Emerald while Knuckles followed. As they reached the top of the shrine, Shade witnessed the brilliant green radiance of the Master Emerald as she beheld it. Knuckles also looked to see shade bathed in the Emerald's brilliant light and felt the warm feeling in his chest again. He quickly shook it off and the two echidnas slowly approached the Master Emerald. Knuckles crossed his arms as he watched Shade take in its brilliance firsthand, her feminine features amplified in the green light. Knuckles continued to watch her until he suddenly noticed he was staring; he quickly looked away as Shade began to speak. "It's really quite beautiful" she commented as she ran her hands over the surface of the huge gem.

Shade sighed as she began to speak again, "I'm sorry Knuckles, I'm not here for the Master Emerald, I have no idea how it works, and as much as I'd like to return to the twilight cage and free my people, I just don't know how" she bowed her head with sadness as a puzzled look crossed Knuckles face. "So, if you're not here to use the Master Emerald, why are you here?" he said. Shade stood up straight and turned to face Knuckles, the emerald's light shining softly in her pink eyes as she stared at him. "I thought I could talk to you, you know what it feels like to be alone in this world. I thought you might understand and help me adjust" said Shade as Knuckles blushed beet red as he cleared his throat, "Um..Uh…sure, Shade..you can..Uh..talk to me..what do you wanna talk about?" said Knuckles Nervously. "let's sit down, and relax a bit, it should be nice for you to have some company up here" said Shade as she sat down on the edge of the emerald shrine. Knuckles slowly followed her and sat down as well, and together the two of them looked out into the night sky. "It must be lonely up here for you, isn't it?" inquired Shade. "Um…I guess, after a while you get used to the peaceful nature of the island. You learn to appreciate the smaller things, like a nice warm day or a cool breeze" replied Knuckles as he stared out into the darkness. Shade turned to look at him while Knuckles stared out into the night, "I'm sure it was a surprise to see another echidna, that probably turned your world upside down" Shade laughed as she watched Knuckles. "Yeah, I was confused at first, I never thought I would see any of my people ever again. I was so sure it was some sort of trick, I didn't know what to think" said Knuckles as he turned to face Shade and suddenly noticed she was already staring at him.

The two looked into one another's eyes for what seemed like eternity before Shade spoke, "I have another confession to make…" "what is it?" asked Knuckles, wondering what Shade could be hiding now. "I….have you ever heard of the soultouch?" she said as she shifted her legs uncomfortably. "soultouch? I don't think I have, is that some sort of ancient echidna artifact? Aha! You need me to help you find it! I'm always ready for a treasure hunt! Lemme just.." Shade laughed as she cut Knuckles off "No, it's not a treasure or artifact, although it does have something to do with something that is very valuable…" "Ok, then what is it then?" Knuckles asked eagerly as Shade's smile left her face. "The soultouch is imprinted in echidna genetics, it's a way to let us echidnas know...when we've found our mate…" Knuckles's eyes widened as he realized where Shade was going with this. "No, it couldn't be, Shade?...with me?" Knuckles thought about he first time he saw her, he had to admit she was quite beautiful, this was after he realized the amazing fact that she was in fact another echidna, like him. Knuckles was so tied up in their adventures, he never thought that he might be able find his mate in another echidna. Knuckles was shaken from his thoughts and spoke "I see, now what does this have to do with me?" Knuckles said shakily as his heart beat fast in his chest. Shade shifted again and looked at him, her head tilted towards the ground and her eyes barely meeting his, "I..um…I think I'm feeling the soultouch… for you…" she turned her gaze towards the ground as thoughts flew through Knuckles's head at a million miles an hour. "Shade the Echidna? His mate? Did he feel the same way? Well, that wasn't really a question, here was Knuckles, and an echidna female was propositioning him! How could he say no? Shade was beautiful and smart, not to mention an excellent fighter. And she made him feel so warm inside, like something was telling him, that she was meant for him. Wait, that feeling, the soultouch, he should be able to feel it too, maybe that warmth, was his soultouch, reaching out to show him his feelings for Shade" Knuckles knew he had to do something and he spoke. "Shade, I…I don't know what to say, I have this feeling, I think its that soultouch you were talking about, I think I feel the same way Shade…" Shade looked up at Knuckles, "well…um..Knuckles..i mean Guardian…uh..i, Shade of the Nocturnus would like to…." She stopped as Knuckles placed his hand over hers, "It's alright Shade, I know I want to be with you" he said as he leaned in towards her and kissed her tenderly on the lips. Shade's nervousness melted, she had found her soulmate, she relaxed and deepened the kiss as she wrapped her arms around Knuckles's neck and he did the same to her waist. The two newfound lovers opened their eyes to see their soulmate, finally they no longer had to worry, and everything would be alright, as long as they had each other. They both moved to kiss one another again and did so in the light of the Master Emerald as the clouds floated by in the night sky as the moon watched over the starry night…


End file.
